Thomas said his mother was killed by Grasslanders, and Hugo just can't get it out of his mind. When a late night chance meeting gives him the oppertunity to ask about it, what kind of answer will he recieve?-Possible shonen-ai if you want, but can also ju

The sliver of the moon shone with all her weakened might through the large,
second story window in Oleander Castle. The room's single occupant shifted on
his bed, trying to sleep despite the thoughts chasing each other in his
head.

"My mother was killed by Grassland bandits, shortly before I came
here."

That's what Thomas had told him, and now he, Hugo, was unable to sleep. The
first night in days where he felt safe enough to let himself totally succumb to
slumber, and he couldn't. And the conversation had been over two weeks ago, so
why was he thinking about it now?

The newly proclaimed Flame Champion turned on his side, looking at the moon
as she seemed to smile sadly at him in sympathy. Looking at him through the
window in his room...the room Thomas had given up for him. Hugo growled a little
in frustration and flung his arm over his eyes.

"Why do I keep thinking about him!?" he muttered to the empty room. "...why
does he have to be so generous?" Hugo sighed and pushed himself up. It was no
use, he'd been trying to sleep for nearly an hour, and it just wasn't happening.
He rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He hated being tired without being sleepy. It was
damn frustrating.

The sounds of Oleander Lake reached his ears, and he felt a little of the
tension leave his shoulders. Its waves sounded almost like the tall grasses in
the wind, a sound that had always eased his heart. A gentle reminder that the
wind spirits had not forsaken him.

Suddenly he wanted to be outside, in the cool night breeze, to smell the calm
waters of the lake, and be closer to the spirits of the wind and the earth. The
young Karayan grinned.

He'd get to make a game of it, since he wasn't supposed to be out by himself
at night. The committee was worried about assassination attempts, now that he
was officially the leader of their joined armies. Which was ridiculous in Hugo's
opinion.

True he was young, and not the best of warriors, but he was quite a decent
one, even without the True Fire Rune. And Cecile was serious about her duties;
security was...well, secure. No one came into the castle without one of her
volunteer guards knowing about it. Still, that meant that Hugo had to avoid them
himself. If he were caught out of bed, well...he didn't know what Salome or
Dupa's lectures were like, but just the thought of getting one from his mother
and Sgt. Joe was enough to make him pause and think carefully about how he was
going to sneak out.

A shimmer of light outside his window caught his eye and he went over to it
to peer out curiously. "Oh, it's the moonlight on the leaves," he murmured,
recognizing the thick climbing vines surrounding his window. The vines grew down
the wall to the roof of Anne's tavern, near the edge where some crates were
stacked against the back of the building. Hugo laughed quietly to himself. He'd
found his way down to the grounds.

With a quiet agility only a born Grasslander could muster, Hugo climbed down
and landed with a small thump on the roof. He stilled, listening intently. It
was late, but not late enough for Anne's more devoted customers to leave their
ale and sleep it off. Laughing voices reached him, but no one had seemed to
notice his slight noise. Satisfied that he was undetected, he crept over to the
crates and climbed carefully down, sighing a little once his bare feet touched
the dewy grass.

The ship was to his right, but Maime's restraunt was under the small cliff he
was standing on. If I can slip past the ship, I should be able to get a spot
to myself north of it, he thought to himself.

Continuing with his stealth, Hugo headed north-easterly, ducking under the
walkway between ship and castle and easily slipping by. He glanced up at the bow
of the ship as he crept away, and saw Aila standing beside the blonde archer
from the SFDF. Hugo shook his head and kept going. He wasn't sure what Aila saw
in the silent warrior, but if he made her happy, so be it.

It wasn't too long after that that he found a small pinnacle, just the right
size for two people to sit on and gaze at the beautiful lake below. He sat down,
one leg dangling carelessly over the edge, the other knee drawn up to serve as
an arm rest. As he listened to the soothing sound of the water lapping at the
cliff base below him, his mind drifted back to the topic of his unrest.

"I just don't understand him," he murmured to the light breeze that ruffled
his bangs. Hugo fell silent again, frowning as his thoughts only chased each
other in circles. So lost in thought was he, that he didn't notice the other
person until they spoke.

"Lord Hugo? I thought you'd be asleep by now." It was a gentle voice; a soft,
mild and quiet voice that could only belong to one person.

"It's just Hugo, Lord Thomas," Hugo said, turning to the other youth. Thomas
blinked and frowned slightly in confusion, an expression that gave him an air of
sweet innocence.

"But, you're the Flame Champion, and the son of the Karayn Cheif besides. To
call you anything less would be disrespectful," the young man protested.

Hugo shook his head. "In my clan, we have no titles besides Cheif, and
thankfully I am not Cheif yet. It feels odd to be called 'Lord' or 'Sir',
especially by someone older than me, Lord Thomas," he explained.

Thomas smiled and nodded. "Very well, Hugo. And, please, call me Thomas. To
be honest, I feel the same as you."

Hugo smiled back, feeling an odd yet pleasant warmth inside of him. He
couldn't help but notice how the slight moonlight seemed to make the gentle
youth's face glow enchantingly, and this thought made him feel odd inside and he
turned his gaze back to the lake to hide his momentary confusion.

"I see you found my spot...it's a good view, isn't it?"

Hugo nodded, enjoying the soft carress of the gentle breeze across his
cheek.

"May I sit with you? Or would you prefer to be alone with your thoughts?"

This time the Karayan shook his head. "Being alone with my thought is what
drove me out here in the first place." He tried to ignore Thomas's warm, but
intent gaze as the young master sat next to him.

"Ah...perhaps you'd like to talk about it?"

Hugo was quiet for a moment before asking, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Thomas responded in mild surprise.

"Forgive so easily," Hugo replied, glancing at the brunette.

"Well, I think a good part of it is just my nature..." Thomas said
uncertainly. "I just can't hold a grudge." He laughed a little.

Hugo threw his head back, closing his eyes. "I just don't understand...why
don't you hate Grasslanders?"

Thomas sat back in surprise, brown eyes wide like a child's. "Why would I
hate Grasslanders?"

Thomas frowned. "yes, but they had nothing to do with your people, or the
people of the other clans really. Every culture has its own criminals and
villans, there's no reason to hold an entire people responsible for a few bad
ones."

Hugo had never thought of it like that before, and it was irritatingly
reasonable. "But still, didn't you want revenge for what they did?"

The brunette drew his knees in and wrapped his arms around them as he gazed
out across the lake. "Justice perhaps...the criminals held accountable to the
law...To be honest, I don't see the point of revenge. All it does is cause more
revenge."

Hugo turned sideways a little so he was facing more towards the other youth.
"How?"

Thomas rocked a bit. "Well...if you killed Lady Chris to avenge your friend,
wouldn't the other Zexen knights have to kill you to avenge her?"

Hugo fidigted with the beads around his neck. "I guess so..."

"And then Sgt. Joe would have to avenge you...it's never ending. All those
deaths...it just all seems very hollow to me." Thomas's voice had grown quiet
and he seemed to curl in on himself as if the warm breeze were instead chillly.
Hugo watched him, his heart feeling tight in his chest.

"...you have a very kind heart, Thomas."

Thomas turned his head to look at him with a small smile. "You think so?"

The Karayan nodded earnestly. "Yes. You care so much, and not just about your
friends, but people you haven't even met...I-I think if there were more people
like you in the Grasslands and Zexen, we wouldn't fight so much."

"You're kind-hearted too, hugo. You wouldn't be the Flame Champion if you
weren't."

Hugo chuckled and shook his head. "How'd you get so wise?" he said slyly.

Thomas laughed. "I'm not so wise, I'm only sixteen."

Hugo shrugged. "Still older than me."

Thomas stared at him. "Seriously?"

Hugo nodded and drew his own legs up to wrap his arms around. "Turned fifteen
last winter."

Thomas shook his head. "I'm glad I don't have the responsibility you have, I
think I'd collapse."

"You seemed to be doing okay with Oleander. And it's not like I'm alone in
this. Everyone's been helping a lot."